Featuring Reviews of Triangle Area Restaurants, and Food and Drink Recommendations!

Turkey Bacon: Blessing or Blasphemy?

In the spirit of trying new things, I got some turkey bacon the other day. I’m not sure if it makes a difference that I bought a generic brand, but I figured since I normally eat Kroger bacon anyway I should compare the same brand. This one advertises to have 65% less fat than normal bacon. I love bacon as much as the next human, but no one wants to be a fatty.

When I open up the package, the first thing I notice is that it looks very much like those bacon-flavored doggy treats. I usually cut my bacon in half with a kitchen shears so it fits on a sandwich better. It didn’t smell like bacon, and it didn’t feel like bacon when I touched it. The nice thing was it was easier to pull apart, it didn’t stick together like real bacon does.

I normally cook my bacon on a pretty low heat, so it stays chewier and less burnty-flavored. I cooked the turkey bacon at the same heat, and it seemed to take longer to get done. Maybe I just couldn’t tell if it was done or not. I noticed a bit of smoke every now and then, even though there wasn’t a sign of blackness anywhere.

The turkey bacon didn’t curl at all like normal bacon does. It didn’t fill the house with the delicious bacony smell that real bacon does. And the pan didn’t fill up with warm, rich bacon fat like real bacon does.

I think I may have overcooked the first batch a bit. Subsequent batches were not so dark in color, and turned out a bit softer.

When they were done cooking, I put them on a plate with a paper towel to cool. Then I tasted.

The texture is not at all like bacon. More like turkey deli meat that was left on the pan a bit too long. The flavor isn’t really like bacon either. There’s a slightly smokey aftertaste, but that’s the closest it gets.

I ate 4 slices of bacon on a BLT, and it didn’t turn out that bad. When you add some mayo, a nice ripe red tomato, and some green leaf lettuce, you can forget it’s not real bacon and just enjoy the flavor that is turkey bacon. I think it makes for a pretty decent sandwich.

I don’t think I’d use this bacon for anything else though. Not in my chicken bacon quesadilla, not in my breakfast, and certainly not just for eating on its own. Plus real bacon has the added bonus of coming in its own lovely sauce. I love using bacon fat to fry up my pancakes, saute my mushrooms or onions, or make hash browns. So my verdict is, turkey bacon is fine in a sandwich, but really can’t hold its own anywhere else. It also doesn’t make for good leftovers. If you eat some the following day, it tastes a lot worse than the day you make it. I don’t seem to have that problem when I chill and re-warm normal bacon.